Dennis Charles Frederickson, 89, of Mesa, Ariz., passed away Saturday October 24, 2020, at the Hospice of the Valley at Friendship Village in Tempe, Ariz. He was born May 28, 1931, in Viborg, S. Dak., to Dell Clifford and Anna Marie (Hansen) Frederickson. He was the eldest of four children and grew up on the family farm near Viborg. Dennis graduated from high school in 1949 and then attended South Dakota State College in Brookings from 1950-54 where he received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture/Animal Husbandry. After college he served in the U.S. Army 12th Infantry Regiment and was a platoon leader based at Fort Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, from 1955-56. He also served six years in the Army Reserve and attained the rank of Captain. While in the Reserve he traveled across this nation with the U.S. Army Rifle Team and was awarded the U.S. Army Distinguished Rifleman Medal (the most coveted award in rifle marksmanship) in 1962. This medal was first awarded in 1884 and fewer than 5% of the shooters who have competed for this award have won it.
Dennis married the late Janice Hadenfeldt of Storm Lake, Iowa, on August 8, 1954, and they were blessed with three children, Scott, Denise and Gary. The children have many fond memories of summer camping trips, fishing, and canoeing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. They were fortunate to visit over 30 states including Alaska.
On May 31, 2004, he married Marybeth Faris of Denver, Colo., who tragically passed away two years later.
Dennis met Audrey Coger of Mesa, Ariz., and they later married on May 16, 2009, in Mesa and they lived in Spring Grove, Minn., and Mabel, Minn., Alamo, Tex., and most recently Mesa, Ariz. He was able to spend his last years enjoying life with his wife Audrey and meeting new people.
Dennis had a 35 year career working for Hormel Foods as a Livestock Buyer in several rural towns and also a supervisor at the Austin, Minn., plant. He very much enjoyed visiting with area farmers and made many friends through the years.
Dennis loved the Lord and served in many leadership positions in the church, was a past member of the MN State Horticulture Society and enjoyed gardening. He was elected as Division 2 Lieutenant Governor of the Austin, Minn., Kiwanis Club. Through the years he had a love of raising Welsh ponies and was able to drive the ponies and their hitches and participate in several area parades with Curt Wennes of Mabel. The highlight for him was when Curt invited him to be in the Fiesta Bowl Parades in 1993 and 1999. Dennis was definitively a “people person” and his favorite pastime was meeting new people and getting to know them. His family fondly remembers him for all his corny Ole and Lena jokes that were just as funny to him the second and third times around.
He is survived by his loving wife of 11 years Audrey Frederickson of Mesa, Ariz., his daughter Denise (Kent) Bummert of Holmen, Wis., his son Gary (Carole) Frederickson of Stillwater, Minn., and his daughter-in-law Lita Frederickson of Mabel, Minn.; seven grandchildren: Amy (Jake) Hanson, John (Kayla) Frederickson, Wyatt Frederickson, Andrew Bulman, Abby Bulman, Samantha Frederickson, and Elisabeth (Jacob) Watkins; and seven great-grandchildren: Ethan, Tayvin and Cooper Hanson, Charlotte and Kaylynn Frederickson, and Keagan Miller and Annelise Watkins.
He is also survived by his two brothers, Robert (Jonel) Frederickson and Eldon Frederickson, and sister Peggy (Carlos) Kemper, sister-in-law Adah Hadenfeldt, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
In addition to his parents and in-laws, Dennis was preceded in death by two wives, Janice Frederickson and Marybeth Frederickson, son Scott Frederickson, grandson Travis Bulman, son-in-law Steve Bulman, sister-in-law Ardell Frederickson, sister-in-law Theresa Frederickson and brother-in-law Vance Hadenfeldt.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, November 18, 2020, at 2 p.m. at Calvary Evangelical Free Church, Spring Grove, Minn., with visitation one hour prior to the service. Pastor Kevin Barnhart will officiate and a private burial with the immediate family will follow. Military rites and honor guard will be by Spring Grove American Legion Post 249 and Mabel Legion Post 299. Interment will be next to his first wife Janice, at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Spring Grove.
In lieu of flowers, his wife Audrey wishes to remember Dennis with memorials to the Rio Grande Bible Institute in Edinburg, Tex., which was near and dear to their hearts. This college trains Christian leaders and missionaries for the Spanish-speaking church.
Mengis Funeral Home of Mabel, Minn., is assisting the family with arrangements.
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